Ashley Chiasson, M.Ed

Christy Tucker’s 2016 Blog Review inspired this post. I certainly don’t have 10 years of blogging, but I do have some numbers!

2016 Statistics

• Total Posts: 90!
• Average Daily Views: 1,701.25
• Average Monthly Views: 35,609.83

How do I feel about those numbers? They’re absolutely bananas! I’m so happy to have the readership that I do, and I’m glad I’ve been able to provide you all with interesting and/or relevant content (somehow 90 posts worth this year). Interestingly enough, I’d down about 1% of total views for the year compared to 2015, but I still think the blog is doing pretty great!

Most Popular Posts in 2016

The most popular posts in 2016 are as follows:

• Articulate Storyline 360: What I’m Loving #Video
• Extending Slide Content in Storyline Part 2: Lightboxes
• Personalization in Storyline Part 1
• DevLearn 2016 Session – BYOL: Using Variables in Articulate Storyline
• Using JavaScript to Generate a Certificate in Articulate Storyline
• Easy Ways of Choosing Colour Schemes for E-Learning
• Automatic Scrolling Effect in Articulate Storyline 2

Blogmas Day 5 isn’t necessarily all about e-learning; I just wanted to share some of the cooler things that I did in 2016. Not a full-on reflection of the year, but some highlights.

1 – Publishing Mastering Articulate Storyline

Mastering Articulate Storyline (click image to purchase) was definitely a labour of love that I was very relieved to complete. I contracted to write it before Articulate Storyline Essentials, and was in the thick of writing after my jaw injury and concussion, which made it incredibly difficult.

I was elated the day my publishers told me it was going to print, because I really wanted to get it out to the audience and share the experience. I highly doubt I will do anything nearly that cool in May 2017, but we’ll see!

2 – Experiencing Brene Brown

In May, I also attended ATD ICE, and Brene Brown was the primary keynote. I’ve read (and love and recommend to everyone) Daring Greatly and Rising Strong, and true to the impact she made on me while reading both books, she made an instrumental impact on me during her keynote. She gave an incredible talk, and I will forever cherish that moment.

3 – Breckenridge, Colorado

Prior to ATD ICE, my husband and I drove to Breckenridge, CO, to meet up with friends for a couple of days. Even after a 10 hour flight and 2 hour drive, Breckenridge is hands down one of the most beautiful places we have ever road tripped to. We had dinner and drinks with friends, got to hike a little bit (and that elevation…is REAL), and roamed around the cute little ski town in its off-season. Amazing!

4 – Becoming a Part-Time Professor

In July, the coordinator of graduate studies at our university pitched me to teach Introduction to Instructional Design for the M.Ed program we offer, so I applied, was awarded the position, and became a part-time professor.

It was an incredibly surreal experience – going from a fear of public speaking, to speaking at conferences, to giving a 2.5 hour lecture on something I’m most passionate about every week in front of a group of students. These opportunities have allowed me to grow so much!

I really enjoyed my experience, and I’ll certainly do it again if the opportunity presents itself, but it gave me greater context for how part-time faculty members feel and the process they undertake when awarded a teaching contract (usually only weeks before the course is in session). I feel like I can more effectively communicate with faculty members within my Instructional Developer role, and can be a bit more empathetic.

5 – Iceland

In September, my husband and I took a late honeymoon to Iceland. It was the most amazing place we have ever been, and if you haven’t gone…YOU MUST GO NOW! We stayed in Reykjavik, which was such a peaceful city…I had anticipated it being a lot busier and congested, but it wasn’t.

We had 4 excursions book: we went to the Blue Lagoon…which was beautiful, but the least exciting of places we went (super relaxing though!), then we went north, wandered a national park, saw some really cool geysers, and snowmobiled on a glacier; on the way back from the glacier, we stopped at Gullfoss waterfall…which was absolutely breathtaking. The next excursion was to see the northern lights by boat, but it got cancelled. We were exhausted from the snowmobiling though, so we weren’t too disappointed. Finally, we went south, visited a super dangerous beach, saw a bunch of waterfalls, hung out at a really cool museum, and tried many times to take selfies with the sheep.

We had the last day to ourselves, so roamed Reykjavik, got matching tattoos (of an Icelandic mountain range), and took a lot of photos of the enormous church in the middle of town. Iceland was hands down our best vacation, and if we travel anywhere in Europe or Scandinavia in the future, we’ll definitely fly Iceland Air and book a free stop-over.

Podcasts are my kryptonite. I always need some form of background noise when I’m working, and podcasts are my preferred medium. I listen to a fair amount of comedy podcasts, but I also keep up on Learning and Development podcasts. Here are some of my favourites:

Dear Instructional Designer

Kristen Anthony has created a huge following with her podcast Dear Instructional Designer. So much so, that 3 different people have come up to me at conferences to discuss the podcast! There are many interviews with fellow Learning and Development folk (including myself – on episode 13), and she’s currently entering Season 3! A wide range of topics are discussed, and Kristen’s casual style makes this podcast very easy to listen to.

Trends and Issues

Trends and Issues Podcast is hosted by Abbie Brown and Timothy Green, authors of Essentials of Instructional Design: Connecting Fundamental Principles with Process and Practice. As alluded to in the title of the podcast, the hosts discuss emerging trends and issues in e-learning and instructional design. While not my all time favourite podcast (it’s a bit heavily weighted in VR/AR lately, which isn’t my thing), it’s still a very informative podcast to listen to if you’re in the L&D field.

The eLearning Guys

I’m familiar with hosts David Charney and Nejc Zorga Dulmin from e-learning communities and social media, so when I saw they were getting together to create a podcast, The eLearning Guys, I was really excited to listen. Both hosts are e-learning developers, so it’s always nice to have context from roles relevant to mine. The podcast is still in it’s start-up phase, only 6 episodes in, but they’re a good 6 episodes, so I’m definitely going to continue to listen!

The eLearning Coach

I’m always fan-girling over Connie Malamed. She’s super down to earth, and her podcast episodes for The eLearning Coach are relevant and easy to digest. She’s had some heavy-hitters in the L&D industry on her podcast, and I’m able to learn something new from most all episodes. She and her guests have a wealth of knowledge, and it’s important to learn what you can from your colleagues and peers, so this podcast keeps me engaged with the industry and eager to hear more.

Today’s post is a bit of a cop out because I’ve been spending time with my family and just enjoying Christmas festivities/all of the food.

I’ll be writing a wrap-up post for 2016 and a 2017 goals post in the coming days, but for now I just wanted to reflect a bit on some things I’ve been working hard at this past year that have impacted my productivity. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade?

In summer 2015, I had a baseball accident that gave me a concussion and a lot of medical appointments. In 2016, one of my main personal goals was to work on getting my jaw back to working order, and one surgery and a lot of physiotherapy later, it’s just about there. Not quite, but almost.

The biggest challenge from this injury was dealing with post-concussion syndrome and coming to terms with my new brain. I still struggle quite a bit with my crumbier memory and how my brain processes things, but in 2017 I’m hoping to master a new way of thinking and organizing my thoughts and workflow.

I’ve invested in a really nice notebook and a premium todoist account, so I’m going to see if that helps me ring in the new year on a positive/less forgetful note.

I still play baseball; I haven’t let the injury stand between me and one of my favourite activities, but I have been limited in how active I am as different activities cause me small setbacks in my rehabilitation. It’s been a frustrating injury, but after focusing on the mechanics of my jaw in 2016, I’m ready to focus on getting my brain and body back in proper working order.

Has life given you some lemons this year? How are you making lemonade out of them?

The holidays have me feeling a bit mushy and reflective, I have to admit. So, I thought it only fitting that I take some time to reflect on what it is I do, and why I love doing it.

What DO you do?

A lot of people ask me what I do for a living, and when I tell them, I’m often met with blank stares. Fewer than I did when I first started, but there are definitely still some. I’m an Instructional Designer and E-Learning Developer – most days I also consult, so I’d throw Consultant in for good measure.

Within these capacities, I have a few obligations: one to the university I work at, where I am their lone Instructional Developer, and another to the clients I work with on the (independent) e-learning development side. Often times these paths cross, but they’re usually operating in silos from one another.

I am a(n):

• Instructional Designer
• E-Learning Developer
• Consultant
• Small Business Owner
• Published Author
• Presenter
• Professor (WHAT?)

It’s interesting, because at the beginning of my Instructional Design journey, I worked for a small(ish) company where I felt like all Instructional Designers wore all of the hats. This has not changed, but the hats that I wear have. My parents still probably think I’m a rocket scientist, and sometimes I feel like one.

You sound busy. Why the heck do you enjoy what you do?!

• As an Instructional Designer and E-Learning Developer, I work with faculty members and clients to craft learning experiences that are drenched in pedagogy, are creative endeavours that will address their needs, and that will create learning experiences. I LOVE this.
• As a consultant, I get to speak with a lot of different people, advising them and providing recommendations based on industry best practices. I get to hone my experience and expertise to help them address their business, organizational, and institutional needs. Operating in this capacity has brought upon some interesting experiences that have been both challenging and complimentary to my current competencies.
• As a small business owner, I have learned so much. SO MUCH. Every year I’m learning more and more, and I’m sure that this year will be no different. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is how important it is to invest in yourself.
• My current roles and expertise have afforded me many exciting opportunities:
  • Each year I get to speak at several Learning and Development Events, sharing my knowledge with the greater commonwealth of Learning and Development professionals. As someone who once took zeroes on any assignment requiring an oral presentation, this has been an incredible opportunity for me to both hone my presentation skills and work on a fear of public speaking. I also get to meet so many fantastic people at these events, individuals I’ve connected with via social media – and putting faces to names, distributing hugs, and providing support to my colleagues feels incredible!
  • When working with clients, you never really know who you’re going to meet. One of my clients put me in touch with Packt Publishing, allowing me to author two books for them, Articulate Storyline Essentials and Mastering Articulate Storyline. These books also serve to facilitate sharing my knowledge to a broad audience…and my parents get to use them as coffee table books.
  • Working at the university allows me to be a part of something bigger. I get to promote our delivery methods to faculty members, facilitate professional development for faculty members, and even be asked to teach students. This year I taught a course for our M.Ed program, Introduction to Instructional Design. It was a fairly small class, but having a once a week commitment to stand up in front of students and deliver information on a topic I feel well-equipped to discuss was a totally new experience. Prior to this, I had been given 30-60 minute speaking slots at conferences and roadshows, but this was a 2.5 hour a week affair, and I truly think I peaked my student’s interest in Instructional Design as a prospective career path. This year, I became a professor…and just typing that feels bananas!

So yeah, I am busy, but 99% of the time I am head over heels in love with what I’ve chosen to do with my life, and I can only hope that each and everyone of you finds your Learning and Development dream job too! Okay…I’ll stop being a mushball now…

I’m on vacation for the next twelve days, and I told Twitter yesterday that I would consider today the beginning of Blogmas, where I blog each day I’m on holiday vacation. For the first day of Blogmas, I’m sharing my e-learning developer wishlist.

Great Books

I have a ton of great Instructional Design and E-Learning books, but these are by far some of my favourites:

• The Essentials of Instructional Design: Connecting Fundamental Principles with Process and Practice by Abbie Brown and Timothy D. Green – This is a fantastic introduction to Instructional Design; so much so that I used it as the required course text for the Introduction to Instructional Design course I taught this year at the university.
• Design for How People Learn (Voices that Matter) by Julie Dirksen – I will never stop recommending this book, because it’s incredibly practical and Julie really does know her stuff!
• How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why it Happens by Benedict Carey – I’ve talked about this book so many times, but for good reason. It’s a fantastic read, and any learning and development professional should read it. Carey is a science reporter, so it’s interesting to read more about the science behind learning…maybe that’s my psychology degree speaking…or I’m just a huge work dork.

Creative Market Gift Card

Creative Market is one of my all time favourite places to seek out e-learning resources – backgrounds, characters, icons, templates. They have it all, and you’re supporting the developers!

Kuzy Keyboard Covers

These keyboard covers have saved my Macbook Pro many a time; mostly on flights or in situations where your computer is susceptible to liquid spills. These covers are silicon, fashionable, and super durable. I usually get several months out of each cover, so for the price, it’s a pretty good deal!

A Microphone Arm/Stand

I’ve been using my microphone a lot more, and with my current pop filter setup, I am constantly annoyed. Having an adjustable microphone arm would ease some of my problems.

Monitor Mounts

I have been lusting over the Bretford MobilePro Desk Mount for my iMac and Macbook Pro; working at my last corporate gig, I had a similar setup for my monitors, and having something like this would definitely clear some of the congestion that my desk is experiencing.

An Amazing Chair

Working from home, you really need to take care of yourself. A lot of people I know use standing desks, but I would prefer to invest in a really great office chair. Generation by Knoll chairs are AMAZING. I had one at a previous workplace, and it was incredible. For all the short folks out there, the lumbar dip really makes a difference. This was definitely the first office chair I ever had where I could put my feet on the floor while my back was still being supported. It’s a bit of a splurge, but definitely worth it if you’re going to be sitting in it everyday!